Breaking my rule of writing these posts chronologically I am jumping to the present.

Today we visited The Snowdrop Festival at Cambo Gardens between St Andrews and Crail. It is two years since our last visit and the restoration work they have carried out on Cambo Country Estate is remarkable and its history is fascinating.

The snowdrop walks lead you through woodland; into more formal gardens where the multitude of varieties are labelled; then most beautiful of all beside the brook on a path towards the sea. A morning here is as enchanting as ever, but now there is a lovely cafe and visitor’s centre too; all tastefully housed in the restored stable block.

We have also visited Cambo in April, which was equally charming, but for anyone in Fife at this time of year, taking a stroll through banks of snowdrops all the way to The Fife Coastal Path and The North Sea is a must. I hope that the photos will speak for themselves.

Isn’t the tapestry below stunning too?

Enjoy!

(Author Diana Jackson loves researching social history and this inspires her writing. Her latest release ‘The Healing Paths of Fife’, a fantasy / memoir, reflects her growing love for the Kingdom of Fife.)

For each of my books I have written virtual tours of the places which have inspired me to write, and Fife is no exception. My tour will be in chronological order rather then geographical, as I discover, explore and come to love this region of the UK.

I will begin in Lower Largo.

I was visiting my husband one weekend. He was commuting from Bedfordshire to Dunfermline each week and so I flew up to join him.

On the Saturday we went for out a drive.

‘Let’s have a look down there,’ I said, when I noticed a ‘to the beach’ sign from the main road along the coast. It was time for coffee anyway. There we stumbled upon a magical place, reminiscent of Cornwall years ago, before the floods of tourists descended. It was early May in 2013.

We stood gazing along the beach for a while towards the peninsula, which pointed out towards North Berwick on the south coast of The Forth. Rocks and sand stretched for what appeared to be miles into the distance. Behind us was a small harbour, The Crusoe Inn Hotel and a viaduct which framed quaint cottages, like a backdrop for an Agatha Christie movie.

We breathed in deeply, hubby after a week’s rewarding but challenging work, and me after a stressful time at college and delayed flights the previous evening. A welcoming coffee at The Crusoe next revealed Lower Largo’s claim to fame as the birth place of the real Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk. Old ‘letters’ adorn the walls of the hotel and you can even ‘walk’ on a footprint of the man himself.

I was so charmed by all of this, my natural curiosity inspired, and thus I began my first research into the history of Fife, the Kingdom I now call home.

(Author Diana Jackson loves researching social history and this inspires her writing. Her latest release ‘The Healing Paths of Fife’, a fantasy / memoir, reflects her growing love for the Kingdom of Fife.)

‘I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; chosen because of an ancestral interest in Fife. I have walked the coastal path where the author was drawn to and can understand how her imaginative mind become active. It is for me a book that I shall read more than once for I need to visit Fife in mind and body as often as possible.’

The second one was spoken directly by a lady in the Burgh who is in Kinghorn in Bloom.

‘I loved your novel. It was one of those books which you could curl up with on the sofa and just enjoy. Heart warming!’

The third review came over the phone by a college lecturer I’ve kept in touch with over the years from Keswick Hall College of Education. (is it really over 40 since I entered college life?) Now, it is the first time I’ve spoken to this man for several years.

‘Your writing is very beautiful Diana. A most unusual book.’

Many thanks to all of you who take the trouble to write reviews, ring or even say what you think in person about novels. All authors everywhere are eternally grateful because many of us suffer from a lack of confidence and it inspires us to continue writing.